"Fearing" God is simply the most ridiculous doctrinal issue written and
talked about.Love and fear have no place together, it's one or the
other. If I spent my life living in fear it would be a dismal existence for
sure.

The dictionary also describes the word fear as reverential
awe. I suggest this is what the scriptures want people to experience instead of
feelings of distressing emotion from impending danger. Love and feelings of
respect and reverence do have a place together. I hope this helps.

Mercy! I get so tired of reading these off-base comments! How about commenting
on the actual article which had nothing to do with fearing God but was all about
not fearing your kids and wanting them to respect you as a parent and not like
you as a friend.

I understand what is said but as has been said before as a parent there is a
certain amount of trust that we need to place on our children. Even with all
the trust my son and I had I still was not aware of certain things because he
wished not to confide in me until well after he had graduated or married. Those
things we have talked about and fact is that at times we discussed them but I
never seemed to catch that what he was telling me was things he was doing until
much later. We've both apologized to each other for not listening even
though we were talking about it. Today our relationship is such that we talk
about certain things but leave others out of bounds.

I do feel that
many parents feel their children are entitled to certain things because their
peers have them. Yet, in reality they are really entitled to security not all
the nicities of the world. Sometimes parents feel guilty that they aren't
with them as much as they should be and thus to pacify them give them the
nicities even when they can't afford.

Excellent article,If you believe in God and have children, you could use
that as leverage. However, the article should apply to every family. Parents
should be friendly or approchable and loving, but not their friends.

I see many parents falling to the trap of compensating for their lack of time
with material gifts.

Another myth, "times have changed",
human relations are the same than thousands of year ago, what have changed is
the "wrapping", before we walked to the one we love, thend we use horse
or a mule, then we use the bus, now we use a car. At the end the essential
dynamic is the same.

Children need boudaries, they resent them but
look for them because it makes them feel protected.Parents who say
"yes" to everything transmit a message of weakness. Children will not go
to them with serious issues.

We live in an affluent area where our kids see their friends getting
"everything they want". Our home is one of the smaller and older ones
that the large ones built around. My husband and I have had to talk to each one
of our 5 kids (especially as teens) about feeling "less than" because we
do not give them everything they see their peers getting.

We explain
that it is our job to raise them to be successful adults who know how to save,
manage money, do without and then appreciate what they have, not to keep up with
the neighbors. If we gave them everything their peers supposedly had we would be
raising them to be weak adults and therefore in the long run - less happy ones.

It is not kind to neglect preparing you child for the realities of
life while they can learn the lessons of life at a smaller price.

We
are their mentors, not their buddies and in reality like Baccus0902 said, our
kids respect and trust us more - even if they are annoyed at us for a time.

Fear can be many things. It can be the abject terror of the unknown or the
simple acknowledgement of failing a loved one, a friend or even ourselves.

If we choose not to do our Heavenly Father's will, then we are as a
ship tossed to and fro in a storm, never knowing when we might be dashed to
pieces on rocks or swallowed by the depths.

But if we do our
Father's will, we have nothing to fear for we have his promise of life
Eternal. And death has no power over us, nor does any man-made evil.

I do not fear God in that I tremble that he might harm me, but I fear God in
that I might fail him, because I am weak...and without him I am nothing. And I
know that if I fail, it will be my own fault, and of no other. And I know that
if I do not abide by my covenant with him, that I have no claim to anything from
him, and that is more frightening than anything.

Don't try to mince words. The god given us by Christianity is meant to be
"feared" in every negative connotation of that word. Read Revelation;
read 3 Nephi. These present us with a god to be "feared", not merely a
god for whom you should have "reverential awe".

Its a mistake to make "being friends" with your kids mutually exclusive
from parenting. Christ called his apostles his friends, yet Christ is also their
father and their God.

The problem with the expression that clinches
this article is that it presupposes that friend means someone who is beholden to
the other, competing to be popular, compromises their standards, and is fixated
on fun and entertaining their kids (all things I agree parents shouldn't be
or do).

But there's a reason friends have power in
people's lives. For one, they take time to understand. Especially,
difficult kids. I grew up in a home where I was continually reminded that i was
child in subjection to parents. Ultimately that caused me to resent most
authority no matter how good the advice. I needed acceptance despite
differences. It did nothing for me in terms of my relationship with God
either--because I saw God as authoritative instead of One who loves me deep
enough to give His life for me.

It's time retire the notion
parents should not be friends with their kids and Be the Truest Friend possible,
instead.

MrScience,Another day another religious article, another scientific howl
over not needing God.It starts to sound like the old "If I deny God
enough maybe I'll really believe he doesn't exist.In your case,
I'd say it's not working.

Hopefully the verses in Proverbs
and Psalms mentioned by Sharrona will help you get a correct understanding of
knowledge and understanding.